Notes / Commercial Description:
A double red ale that seems to indicate an intensity of flavor simply by it’s dark reddish brown appearance. Subtle aromas of candy, brown sugar, and toasted malt seem reluctantly released from the depths of this full bodied beast. Raisins, figs, and burnt caramel are among some of the sweeter flavors up front, before giving way to a roasted cocoa like bitterness that becomes magnified by high alpha hops. Considering the initial overall sweetness, it’s a heightened bitterness that dominates the finish.

Reviews by projectflam86:

More User Reviews:

I've been wanting to try this one for a pretty long time, finally excited to finally get the chance to do so. Typically haven't been a huge fan of "red" ales in the past, but I'll never turn down a Shorts beer I haven't had. This one pours a lighter ruby-red color with hints of copper and maybe even a touch of purple. The cap is off-white showing decent retention and leaving some generous lacing through the top half of the glass.

The aroma's pretty light overall, or at least at first. I pick up quick on a few, sweet and malty aromas. Some citrus and juicy fruits; tangerine, melons, raisins, and plums. I know, a strange combination of fruits, but the aroma isn't "dark" enough to be comprise of all "dark" fruits. There are lighter and juicier aromas abound, I'm thinking tangerine is the biggest suspect. Hops aren't as vibrant as I'd like, but I have no idea how old this beer is, so what can I say? Mild hop oils with a very small hint of pine and resin. This one is certainly dominated by the fruity aromas and the sweet malt, though.

Up front, the first sip is a little boozier than I would have guessed it to be, but it comes hand in hand with a big sweetness to provide some balance. Very juicy and fruity like the aroma would have you believe. And when I say fruity, I don't mean in a "fruit beer" kind of way, I mean it in a "red ale" kind of way. Make sense? Didn't think so. Heavy tangerines, candied raisins, plum juice - this one is definitely sweet, but the hops quickly do their job to bring harmony to the table. Pungent, oily, and some lightly resinous pine needles with a herbal and almost ashy finish.

As the beer gets warmer, I get more and more caramel from the malt - by the last few ounces of this brew, the caramel was one of the biggest flavors, and the aftertaste was dominated with heavy caramel malts, toasted bread, and sugary graham crackers with some diminished, ashy hops and a fading, fruity sweetness. Excellent finish, actually, and maybe even better than the beginning and middle portion of the sip. Body is medium with a lightly sticky and moderately slick feel to it, medium carbonation.

Leave it to Shorts to make a beer for every style that ever existed. I'm sure this isn't the first "double red", but there probably aren't too many out there. Pretty good overall, maybe a little heavy on the sweetness - I would have liked more of an offsetting, bitterness balance. However, for not being particularly fond of the style, I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Pours into my glass a deep maroon red with a solid inch of creamy khaki head on top of the brew. Good clarity with patchy lacing and a head that lingers on. Aromas start with a big dose of caramel malt alongside some roasted notes. Citrusy, piney hops are quite well placed in there too. Toasty with a fruity undercurrent as well, but big on the caramel. Slightly oxidized as well.

First sip brings a caramel / toasted malt upfront that flows into fruity, somewhat doughy notes as well. It moves into citric, earthy hops, definitely Cascades, but time has taken its toll and the hops have faded quite a bit. A bit nutty as it flows down with more fruitiness and a good bit of bitterness. Finishes smooth and malty with a bit of oxidation on the end as well.

Mouthfeel brings a solid body with a nice creaminess as it flows down. Mellow carbonation throughout. Nice and chewy, it's a big red ale that also goes down smooth and is quite refreshing. Overall, it's not my favorite from the series that I've tried so far but it's still a solid, tasty brew. Wish I would have had it fresh because the hops have faded quite a bit. I've been loving trying these Imperial Series beers, cheers to Shorts!

A -Pours a beautiful clear deep amber with two fingers of tan head. Head has nice retention and leaves very nice lacing.

S - Nice caramel malt, with a bit of sweetness. Big citrus hops aroma with a bit of bread malt. Very nice.

T - Taste is a nice balance malty and bitter. Mostly caramel malts with a bit of bread. Like the smell, the hops presence is mostly citrus. Maybe a touch too much bitterness, but very enjoyable.

M - Medium mouthfeel starts with a bit of sticky sweetness and finishes dry and bitter.

O -This is up there with Tocobaga and Red Rocket as my favorite hoppy amber ales. Wish I bought more than a couple singles. A very nice beer with a great story behind it (check out Short's website if you don't have the original 750 ml release)

Huge thanks to Derek(hoppymeal) for this trade at DLD. I had no clue this was such a limited release :x

#11 of 780
Bottled 2/6/07

750ml brown bottle, poured into an imperial pint.

A: Pours a deep blood red so thick that not much comes through. A nice 1 1/2 fingers of lightly tinted head forms pretty tight and holds nicely. Some nice patches of sticky lacing.

S: Nice and hoppy(citrus, light resin and pine) with a hearty amber ale backbone. The aroma is on the subtle side but I swear I'm getting a touch of sour/funk. I guess we'll see.

T/M: The sour/funk flavor actually turns out to be a highly acidic mandarin orange flavor... that I'm not sure I could have picked apart without reading joe1510's review first. This flavor makes up nearly the entire hop side with a slow forming but assertive bitterness. The malts lay pretty heavy with big caramel and dense dark bread characteristics. The body is medium heavy with a smoothness from lightened carbonation. Finishes lightly dry with lasting bitterness.

D: I drank this rather slowly but that's not to say it was a challenge to drink it. It's just one of those complex beers that you need to take your time with. Thanks for the brew, Derek!

Bomber, purchased at the brewpub in August. A medium amber coloured body, with generous off-white head. A full mouthfeel. Complex malting, the aroma is malty, with a tad of hops. The taste includes orange. A long finish and pleasant aftertaste. A good take on it, was expecting hoppier.

Many thanks to ThomasHardy for this one. A rarity I never thought I'd see. Thanks, Brady.

Aorta Ale pours moderate brown color with an excellent scarlet hue. It's a little hazy, but backlighting really gives a nice reddish color. It's topped with a tan head that reaches nearly two fingers deep. It's very slow to recede and leaves a somewhat sticky lacing on the glass. Very nice looking beer.

The nose is very malty and a little sweet smelling. Caramel malts are abundant. There are some hop remnants remaining. They smell a little piney and citric. There's a little grapefruit and orange but not much. I'd love to try a bottle of this stuff fresh. It smells like the hops have degraded over time. No surprise there. I'm a little surprised they're noted at all since the accompanying label indicates this was bottled in February, 2007.
Alcohol is blended well and goes unnoticed. All in all, this is a good smelling beer. I suspect it'd be excellent fresh. Today, very good.

The flavor profile is very consistent with the nose. Caramel malts are sweet and substantial. They give it a really solid base. As I suspected, the hop flavor has largely disappeared. There's maybe a little pine flavor and some residual bitterness. I'm not picking up much in the citrus department here. I'm still shocked there's any at all. I'll take it. Alcohol is masked well and isn't noticeable. It's somewhat modest at 7.6%, so that's not too surprising. It finishes sweet and a little bitter. At the end of the day, this is good stuff. For a bottle that's 2 and a ½ years old, it's held up very well. Aside from hop degradation, you really can't tell. There's no oxidization at all.

Aorta Ale has a medium body that's overall smooth. Carbonation is dialed down nicely. It's not quite creamy, but it's nice and smooth. Drinkability is actually very high. This is tasty stuff despite its age. At 7.6%, it's not too big. I expected something more substantial for a 'Double Red.' It goes down easy and is rather approachable. I'm splitting the 750, but would've gladly tackled it alone.

Short's did a really nice job with Aorta Ale. I'd love to try a bottle of this stuff fresh. I suspect the hops are a little more vibrant and add a really nice dimension to the flavor. As old as this bottle is, it still has a surprisingly bitter flavor, but lacks the punch of fresh hops. Nonetheless, it's held on to its youth amazingly well. Really good stuff. Thanks, Brady.

Great deep amber color that is transparent with a small amount of head. The color reminds me of a light red wine. I can see where the name of it comes from. Smell has a great floral scent but also accented with a bready maltiness. Taste is very well balanced between the malt and floral hops. Clean and dry aftertaste with some pleasant bitterness lingering. Medium body and lightly carbonated. Overall, I was really impressed with this one. This is a great beer!

Edit- 2/15/13- Even better than I remember. Huge Centennial hits and great backbone. Make more!

A beautiful three finger frothy light tan head easily comes to the top of my glass. Solid staying power and nice lace is left behind. Body is a deep mahogany brown with a bit of a red burnish to it. Nose is of roasty camp fire like malts and a mineral, woodsy hop profile. Some dark fruit maybe cherries are there also. On first sip I think to my self, wow there is a lot going on here. I could say dark fruit but that would be to narrow. Cherry skins, rhubarb, dandelion and grape seed come to mind at first. There is a mineral profile here that is almost metallic also. Actually very metallic, dare I say iron. Mouthfeel is attractive, be it all over the place. Never gets old though. This beer was a real adventure and a joy to drink from beginning to end.